Morocco Labor Minister Deflects Blame in Deadly Tangier Factory Flood

In his response to the deputies, Mohamed Amekraz brandished Article 135 of the Labor Code which stipulates that any person intending "to open a company, an establishment or a site in which she will employ employees, is required to declare it to the labor inspector in the conditions and forms set by regulation," reports the daily Al Massae.

Thus, this workshop "could not be monitored by the labor inspectors, because it was located in a residential area and not in an area dedicated to economic activities, which is continuously monitored," said the government official, whose department is also responsible for ensuring compliance with the law relating to the rights of companies, whether structured or informal, in violation of the legal provisions in force in Morocco in the field of labor.

Mohamed Amekraz also reassured about the professionalism of the employment inspectors who regularly control the companies subject to the legislation relating to employment. In the event of an observed infringement, they inform the company owners, to whom they do not fail to give advice, encouraging them to regularize. It is not uncommon for them to go so far as to draw up reports stating the violation of a provision of the Labor Code, he concluded.